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When you become a Major champion, lots of doors open.
However, the perks of winning The Masters, and the extras that come with pulling on the Green Jacket, are truly something else.
From coming back each and every year to hosting your own Champions Dinner, here are some of the amazing things that come with winning the annual Augusta National showpiece…
Perks Of Winning The Masters
1. The Masters Trophy
The winner gets their name engraved on the Masters trophy and a sterling silver replica
The Masters Trophy, which depicts the Augusta National clubhouse, is easily one of the coolest pieces of silverware in the sport. The winner gets their own sterling silver replica to keep
The actual trophy, which the winner sadly doesn’t get to take home, remains in the clubhouse throughout the year. It was made in England and is made of more than 900 separate pieces of silver. The winner does get their name engraved on it, though.
2. A Gold Medal
The Augusta National Gold medal
As well as the incredible trophy, Masters champions also get a very cool medal.
The medal is 3.4 inches in diameter and features a view of the clubhouse from behind the Founders Circle – the iconic view from Magnolia Lane we’ve all seen countless times.
So, if you win the Masters, you receive a silver trophy, a gold medal and, should you make an eagle, a bit of crystal – and that’s before you get your prize money.
3. A Big Winner’s Check
The prize fund for The Masters is ever-increasing, taking another sizeable leap in 2025. Last year’s Masters prize money payout was a whopping $20m, and that has shot up by 5% to $21m this time around.
The winner’s cut was a huge $3.6m in 2024 – up from $3.24m in 2023 – and increased by another $600,000 for 2025. The Masters champion this term will collect a reward of $4.2m while the runner-up gets $2.27m. Everyone involved in The Masters this year earns at least $25,000, even if they didn’t make the cut, with six-figure sums up for grabs for anyone who finishes inside the top-37.
In terms of elite level golf, $4.2m isn’t the highest first-place check, with The Players Championship and US Open offering more. Rory McIlroy’s success at TPC Sawgrass in March saw him collect $4.5m while the 2024 US Open – won by Bryson DeChambeau – generated a $4.3m prize for the American.
PGA Tour Signature Events offer between $3.6m-$4m to their winners and all LIV Golf tournament award $4m. The PGA Championship and Open Championship gave out $3.33m and $3.1m to their respective winners in 2024.
4. The Green Jacket
The Masters champion gets their own Green Jacket
Of course, the Masters winner gets to pull on the coveted Green Jacket itself, which may well be the greatest perk of all.
With millions in the bank, the Masters champion can afford to go on a shopping spree, but no amount of money can buy you this item of clothing – a custom fit, members-and-winners only green jacket.
The Green Jacket was first awarded in 1949, when Sam Snead won his first Masters. The champion gets to keep it for their first year before returning it to the club in the following year’s tournament. The iconic garment is then kept at the club, where the owner can wear it during future Masters tournament weeks as well as whenever they happen to be on-site.
“Essentially, it’s the only trophy you can’t really keep at home,” 2023 Masters champion Jon Rahm said.
Jon Rahm won the Green Jacket in 2023
“You do get a trophy, but the one that we all care about is the jacket. I think it’s something really special to know, when you win, that the only jacket that ever leaves Augusta National is that one. I think that’s the most special part of all.”
If you win multiple Masters titles, you don’t win more Green Jackets – once you win, your Green Jacket is your only, and very special, Green Jacket for life.
5. Joining The Masters Club
The Masters Club – AKA the Champions Dinner – assembles every Tuesday of tournament week
When you’re a Masters winner, you get to set the menu the following year for the Champions Dinner.
The Champions Dinner, also known as ‘The Masters Club’, takes place every Tuesday evening of Masters week and features past champions, whether they’re playing in the tournament or not, and club chairman Fred Ridley.
Each year, the defending champion selects the food, and drink before getting to host an evening for their golfing heroes and hear some incredible stories. They even have to pay for the food and drink, according to reports.
“I think that’s something you can’t put a price on, some of the greatest players of all-time who have played this tournament through their whole career and experienced a lot of things, and they’re telling stories from their eyes and what happened is quite unique,” Rahm said of his 2024 dinner
6. A Golden locket
An extra perk related to the Masters Club is that the new member receives an inscribed gold locket in the form of the Augusta National Golf Club emblem as certificate of their membership in the Masters Club.
Ben Crenshaw, the 1995 Masters champion, acts as host of the Champions Dinner and it is he who gives out the locket to the defending champion.
“It’s a pendant that is supposed to go to your wife,” Crenshaw told Golf.com, with his wife saying she wears hers on her necklace every April. Very cool.
7. A Special Invite
Win The Masters and you’ll be invited back each year
We’re not talking about television invites, although you’ll certainly get those too. No, the Green Jacket winner receives an invitation to attend The Masters every year after that. They get to be reunited with their Green Jacket every year, attend the Champions Dinner and reminisce of their famous win(s).
It’s why we’ve still been able to watch the likes of Fred Couples, Jose Maria Olazabal and Bernhard Langer roll back the years at Augusta over recent times.
Even when you get too old to play in the main event, you can still come back to the Champions Dinner every year, play in the Par 3 Contest and soak in the week on-site, all while being reuinited with your Green Jacket. A tradition like no other.
Augusta is a course that takes many players years to fully understand, and that’s why some of the past champions can still make the cut despite losing length. They know where not to hit it.
8. Exemptions
Masters champions get to play in the other three men’s Majors for the next five years
Winning The Masters sets you up nicely, both in the short term and further down the line.
As well as a lifetime of Masters starts, the winner gets a five-year exemption into the PGA Championship, US Open and Open Championship.
They also gain PGA Tour membership for five years as well as a coveted spot at the next five Players Championships.
9. Honorary Membership
Masters champions are welcomed into the club as an ‘Honorary’ member
Not only do you receive a lifetime exemption into the tournament, you are welcomed into the club as an honorary member.
That doesn’t mean you’re an ‘official member’, but basically if you win The Masters you can essentially play Augusta National any time you like for the rest of your life. You may even be allowed the odd guest or two, as long as you’re playing with an Augusta National member.
10. A spot in the champion’s locker room
The Champion’s Locker Room is just that, an exclusive locker room where only Masters champions have access.
The winner gets a locker to use during their time at the club, while all other Masters competitors are in the player’s locker room.
Each locker in this fabled corner of the clubhouse features a plaque engraved with the champion’s name and the year, or years, that they won The Masters. The room is located on the second floor of the clubhouse and features a veranda that overlooks Magnolia Lane and Founders Circle.
11. A special Sunday tee time
Scottie Scheffler played 18 holes at Augusta National with his mom ahead of the 2025 Masters
Masters champions are allowed to bring a guest to play the course with them on the Sunday before the tournament, an incredible perk that sees them reward a close friend of family member.
In 2024, defending champion Scottie Scheffler played 18 holes with his mom. Very, very cool.
12. Points
The Masters champion, just like all Major winners, receives 100 Official World Golf Ranking points.
100 world ranking points is a huge number. The Players Championship, the next best, gives 80 while PGA Tour Signature Events give around 65-69.
They also earn 750 FedEx Cup points, which is the same as the other Majors and The Players.
How much does second place get at The Masters?
While nobody wants to finish second at The Masters, it still does a lot for your career.
The runner-up money for 2025 is a huge $2.268m and the second-place player receives a very healthy 60 Official World Golf Ranking points, too – which is more than regular PGA Tour events and around double what a regular DP World Tour event offers.
